LOWELL – Alejandro Bennifield reached rarified air Friday night at the Tsongas Center.
The Massachusetts quarterback eclipsed the 4,000 career passing yards mark, throwing a touchdown and rushing for another, as the Pirates topped the Iowa Barnstormers, 54-29, in front of 3,850 fans in Lowell.
The Pirates (4-0) remain unbeaten in the Indoor Football League, leaving the Barnstormers (0-3) still searching for their first win. The Pirates also increased the all-time series lead between the two clubs at 4-2.
Running back Tavion Thomas was also a force, rushing for 122 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns.
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“I feel good to get the W at home,” said Thomas. “You can’t let nobody come in our house and take what’s yours. Every week we’ve got to just come ready to work and go after it.”
“Thomas was great,” said Pirates coach Rod Miller. “He played a good game. He shook the rust off a little bit, but he’s a big physical guy that’s nimble on his feet. We’re very fortunate with that. Now we’ve got a thunder and lightning situation as I look at it. I think that’s going to be a good position for us.”
Coming off their bye week, the Pirates showed no signs of rust on either side of the ball. The defense was razor sharp. Iowa quarterback Darius-James Peterson found that out the hard way getting sacked by Calvin Bundage for an early loss, with Guy Thomas narrowly drawing another on the following snap, which kept the Barnstormers on the defensive on their initial drive.
Bennifield took it from there. The Pirates’ signal caller connected with Isaac Zico on an impressive 37-yard Hail Mary heave for the touchdown on their first play from scrimmage with 8:42 left in the first quarter.
It was a milestone moment for the QB, who needed just 10 passing yards to reach the 4,000-yard milestone.
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“He’s been one of the top quarterbacks in this league for years,” said Miller. “He was a championship quarterback a couple of years ago, and is playing like he was then when they won the championship. If we can keep him healty playing like that, we can go a long way.”
It was an equally electric moment for Zico, earning his 35th career touchdown with the grab, while breaking the 2,000 career all-purpose yards threshold. Josh Gable added his first of three PATs in the half, giving Massachusetts the 7-0 lead.
Iowa battled back, returning the following kickoff 48 yards for the TD return, adding an extra point kick on top of it to tie the game at 7-7.
Bennifield kept his cool on his team’s next drive, however, faking a handoff to Tavion Thomas, before darting in on a five-yard strike down the left sidelines with 3:28 left in the quarter. Gable’s second PAT gave them the 14-7 advantage.
The Massachusetts defense refused to budge, forcing Iowa to attempt a 38-yard field goal, which was blocked by Bundage. The Pirates held the 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
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Tavion Thomas opened the second stanza with an aggressive strike. The 6-foot, 237-pound running back marched 11 yards to paydirt just 1:26 in. Gable’s third point-after gave Massachusetts the 21-7 advantage.
Looking to regain its footing, Iowa attempted another 25-plus yard field goal in the second half, but the kick went wide. Gable showed them how it was done, capping the Pirates next drive by booting a 28-yard field goal to give Massachusetts the 24-7 cushion.
Pirates defensive back Kenneth Durden kept Iowa receivers honest in the closing seconds of the half. He sent Iowa’s Tre Long over the boards with a big hit along the seven-yard line, getting a rise out of the crowd. Eugene Ford (two interceptions) fed off the play, picking off his first of two Peterson passes in the end zone with 20 seconds left in the half, holding the 24-7 lead.
Thomas continued to push the offense to open the second half. The running back bolted in 8-yards for his second touchdown pf the game early in the third quarter. Gable’s fourth point after made it a 31-7 affair.
Iowa’s Robert Washington attempted to rally his troops, busting in on a goal line TD in the third quarter.
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But Zico killed any thoughts of a Barnstormer comeback by jetting 52 yards on the kickoff return, building a 37-14 lead with 5:04 remaining in the third quarter. Iowa managed to cut lead to 38-21 with 1:31 to play in the third.
Pirates backup quarterback Connor Degenhardt entered the game late in the third quarter. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Westford native made the most of his IFL debut, finding Dallas Daniels with a six-yard TD catch to expand the 45-21 lead early in the fourth quarter, essentially putting the game away.
Thomas raced in for a six-yard touchdown, his third of the game, with 4:49 to play. The defense added a safety for good measure to seal the 54-29 victory.
“I really wasn’t worried about my touchdowns,” said Thomas. “I was really worried about finishing the game, running hard and showing my teammates they can count on me and trust in me.”
Calvin Bundage of the Massachusetts Pirates hurdles an Iowa Barnstormers defender to get Barnstormers quarterback Darius-James Peterson. The Pirates won 54-29 to remain undefeated. (James Thomas photo)
Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.
The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.
The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.
For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.
The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.
The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.
Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.
That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!
Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.
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With a widening conflict in the Middle East after the American and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday, global markets are bracing for a shakeup in the energy supply chain.
So, here at home, what can consumers expect at the gas pump?
An increase in oil prices is almost always followed by an increase in gas prices. And the oil market has already reacted to the war. NBC News reported on Sunday that U.S. crude oil initially spiked more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 13%.
Early Monday morning, reports were coming in of black smoke rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City.
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While Iran’s oil reserves supply less than an estimated 5% of global production, the main concern is the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime passageway borders Iran at the bottleneck of the Persian Gulf, and more than 20% of the world’s oil passes through. If Iran closes or restricts Hormuz, the oil market could face severe disruptions.
Gas prices rise about 2.5 cents for every dollar increase in crude oil prices. As of Sunday, U.S. crude oil prices had already increased by nearly $5 a barrel.
“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told NBC News.
GasBuddy characterizes their expectations for price increases as “incremental” rather than “explosive”. The group said to anticipate a potential 10-15 cent increase over the next couple of weeks.
